As the number of female Veterans has grown — tripling in just the last 20 years — VA has pivoted its care models to meet their needs. Women are the fastest growing Veteran group, accounting for about 10% of the nation’s Veterans.

At every VA medical center, designated women’s health providers coordinate care for female Veterans to ensure they receive equitable, timely care from a single primary care provider.

“Women who are assigned to a women’s health primary care provider have higher satisfaction and higher quality of gender-specific care,” said Dr. Patricia Hayes, VA’s chief consultant for women’s health services.

“They are twice as likely to choose to stay in VA care over time. That is why we are concentrating our efforts on training staff and actively recruiting additional providers with experience in women’s health care.”

Are you as committed as we are to providing the best care to the brave women who have served our country? Consider a career in women’s health at VA.

A Veteran-centered approach

You’ll be a vital part of Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACTs). The PACTs are centered on Veterans and include family members, caregivers and a range of health care professionals — from gynecologists to mental health providers to medical assistants.

Designated women’s health providers coordinate all care for female Veterans, including:

  • General medical care for acute or chronic illnesses.
  • Preventive care such as nutrition counseling, weight control and smoking cessation.
  • Gender-specific care such as mammograms, birth control, menopause care and more.
  • Specialty services for depression, homelessness, military sexual trauma (MST), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse.

Our Women Veterans Health Program, founded in 1988, works everyday to strengthen and refine the care we provide to female Veterans.

For example, we’ve recently ramped up our support of rural health care providers, since approximately one in four female Veterans live in a rural area. This new program provides onsite women’s health training for rural primary care teams. Providers and nurses train side-by-side, receiving more than 18 hours of accredited medical training.

“Our goal at VA is to be the place where women who have proudly served their country receive excellent care in a safe, sensitive climate where they feel at home,” wrote VA Secretary Robert Wilkie.

Generous rewards

A wide range of benefits are available to VA primary care providers, such as:

  • A competitive starting salary based on education, training and experience.
  • Periodic pay raises that address inflation and local market changes.
  • Incentive and performance awards, including superior performance awards, special contribution awards, quality step increases, VA honor awards, non-monetary recognition and Title 38 awards.
  • Up to 49 days off, including vacation days that begin accruing immediately and sick time that doesn’t expire.
  • Premium-support group health insurance, including dental, vision and long-term care, that may become effective on the first full pay period after you start.
  • Enrollment in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), a three-tier retirement plan composed of Social Security benefits, FERS basic benefits and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).

You can work anywhere in the United States and its territories with one active license, and all your benefits transition with you if you move to a new facility.

Come and #WorkatVA

Bring your background in women’s health care to VA and help us serve female Veterans.

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